We have a second case study here of the
mass transit system in Southern California. This time the itinerary was Escondido to Los Angeles, to Culver City, then up to Pasadena and back to Escondido.
As before, the experience was generally quite positive and as before where the system exists all is well. But when you fall off the edge of the different individual systems, when you fail to fit their profile as it were, then you are thrown on the mercies of the normal non-transit transit system of Los Angeles and may God Help You because you are doomed.
As before, the experience was generally quite positive and as before where the system exists all is well. But when you fall off the edge of the different individual systems, when you fail to fit their profile as it were, then you are thrown on the mercies of the normal non-transit transit system of Los Angeles and may God Help You because you are doomed.
It is always important to remember that
in Southern California in general and Los Angeles in particular,
there is a well defined status system in place that is based on the
automobile. Those who do not drive are untouchable, unclean, and are
the despised dregs of society who deserve nothing more than a quick
death.
But when you are on these new, partial,
discontinuous transit lines, then things are pretty good. I used
five different train lines on this trip: the NCTD Sprinter, Amtrak,
and the Los Angeles Metro Red, Expo and Gold lines.
The Sprinter goes to/from
Oceanside/Escondido and it is $2.00 each way and runs every 30
minutes. It is such a surprise to see this train, and it is so much
better than what Los Angeles had anywhere in its system until
recently.
The Gold line goes from Los Angeles to
Pasadena and again it is very nice. I am not sure how often it
runs, but often I think. The stations took me very close to where I
was going and it even had a place by the curb for people to park
temporarily to pick up and deposit passengers.
But getting from the Culver City
Station to Beverly Hills requires descending to the brutal, traffic
infested nightmare that is Los Angeles in the new century. It took
an hour and $25.00 to get about 3.5 miles. What a piece of shit.
The whole trip from San Diego to LA costs $26.00, so a cab ride for
$25.00 for a few miles is not rational. Nor is the traffic rational.
In other words, if you get stuck in LA
without a car, you are fucked.
The final problem is an interesting one
and it is not clear to me what they should do about it. The way
Amtrak works is that you have exactly two trains southbound to San
Diego from Los Angeles, the 7:30 PM and the 10:00 PM. That is it
until dawn. The later train arrives in Oceanside at least an hour
after the last Sprinter has run inland. We live in the country out
here and people go to bed early. The point is that if you need to
take a taxi from Oceanside to Escondido it will cost you $70.00 and
that is in the middle of the night when there is no traffic.
In other words, all is well until you diverge from their system, and then you should expect to pay through the nose to get home.
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